Chapter 191
He was Count Seshia.

His eyes gleamed with cruel intent as he spoke.

“Since this entire area is already under the influence of my poison, it’s too late for you to run. As I said, I’ll dissolve your limbs with my toxin, leaving only your torso alive—as a hostage.”

Sssshhh.

A shadowy darkness seeped beneath Chris and his companions’ feet.

It was Count Seshia’s poison aura.

More precisely, his ‘Will-Poison.’

The moment Seshia gestured, the poison beneath their feet would transform into serpents and strike at Chris’s group.

Just as everyone’s faces stiffened, realizing it was already too late—

“Merlin, I have a task for you. I’ll engage Count Seshia to create an opening. Lead the Black Flag Army and fall back.”

“Is that even possible…?”

“I’m not telling you to run away. There’s something only you can do.”

Through message magic, Chris sent a secret order, and Merlin’s expression shifted subtly.

“That order… You really intend to win, don’t you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I never once thought about losing.”

Merlin let out a bitter laugh.

The situation was hopeless, yet seeing Christian’s unwavering confidence stirred an inexplicable trust within her.

“Understood. But I haven’t had a proper fight with Your Highness yet, so you must come back safe.”

Next was Senin.

“Senin, you take on Count Kalia. Same rank—6th star, lower tier. You can handle it, right?”

Christian’s tone was sharp.

“It might be too much for you, so it’s okay if you don’t win. Just buy time. Hold out, and I’ll take down both Count Seshia and Count Kalia.”

It sounded absurd—like a reckless boast from someone out of their mind.

But Senin’s eyes darkened with seriousness as he met Christian’s gaze.

He meant it.

“I won’t need Your Highness’s help. I’ll take responsibility for Count Kalia.”

Finally, Marisa.

“You won’t be much help.”

“W-what?!”

“Just kidding. Follow Merlin and assist her. There might be traps using poison, so your help will be valuable.”

Marisa bit her lip tightly, still unable to shake her worry.

Chris chuckled softly.

“And thanks for stepping up for me earlier.”

“Th-that was as a friend!!”

“I know, I know. No misunderstandings here.”

“…”

That was where the conversation ended.

Chris stepped forward.

Senin followed beside him.

Count Kalia and Count Seshia also advanced, naturally forming a two-on-two standoff.

“The Dark Mage Duke is really this foolish? I never thought he’d be such a clueless idiot.”

Count Seshia spoke with disbelief.

Not with outright contempt—after all, disdain requires some semblance of equality.

His gaze was that of someone looking down on a being utterly beneath him.

“You should’ve just sacrificed your subordinates and fled. Even a sliver of hope would’ve remained.”

“Shut up. By the way, do you know your breath stinks?”

“…What did you say?”

“Every time you speak, a rotten stench fills the air. It’s not poison—it smells like shit. Do you have a thing for shit or something?”

Chris smirked.

“Well, you’re just a mutt following Marquis Goras around, scavenging his shit. No wonder your breath reeks.”

“You bastard…!! I’ll kill you!!”

Whoosh!!

Poison erupted from Count Seshia’s body.

At the same time, Count Kalia unleashed his own poison.

The battle had begun.

*    *    *

Senin and Count Kalia fought evenly, fitting for two 6th star, lower-tier masters.

Count Kalia specialized in ‘Concentrated Poison.’

Rather than widespread devastation, his poison focused immense lethality on a single point.

Senin, a phantom swordsman, countered with timely illusions and swordplay, adapting to the poison.

The fight showed no signs of ending quickly.

Meanwhile, the battle between Christian and Count Seshia took a different turn.

Count Seshia’s specialty was ‘Wide-Area Poison.’

This poison excelled at slaughtering many weak foes at once.

But it wasn’t weak against a few strong opponents.

Instead of concentrating poison power in one spot, it trapped enemies like a beast caught in a snare, immobilizing and breaking them down.

The problem was, this kind of trap didn’t suit Christian well.

“You bastard…!!”

Poisonous mist swirled from all directions.

But it was a ruse—the real poison struck from the shadows.

For anyone else, it would’ve been a fatal surprise, but Christian dodged the poison’s grasp with ease.

‘There’s no way I’d lose at a game of wits.’

Even against a 6th star master.

‘Of course, all I can do is dodge.’

Though his genius mind maneuvered him out of danger, Christian wasn’t exactly winning.

As everyone had said before, the gap between Christian and Count Seshia, a 6th star master, was enormous.

He was barely escaping the crisis, but if this continued, he’d hit his limit.

‘But it’s fine. I’ll win this fight.’

An unfathomable confidence.

‘First, I need to shake Count Seshia off balance.’

Christian kept taunting.

“6th star, huh? You’re nothing special. Maybe you’re lying about your rank and only got your lordship by licking Marquis Goras’s boots.”

“You bastard!!”

“Seriously, shut your mouth before your breath kills us all.”

Flash!

In an instant, a Black Flag dart flew toward Count Seshia’s mouth.

As if telling him to shut up because he stank.

Of course, Seshia blocked it.

No damage, but his face burned with rage.

“You…”

Christian didn’t stop there, sending dart after dart at Seshia’s mouth.

Like he was mocking him.

Seshia’s face flushed red with fury.

Then, suddenly, he let out a cold, bitter smile.

“Fool. To show such an opening against me.”

In his haste to throw the darts, Christian had revealed a faint weakness.

“This is the last time you’ll run like a rat. I’ll kill you.”

Whoosh!!

Darkness spread from Count Seshia, enveloping Christian in a shroud of poison-laced magic.

A net of toxic energy.

The net tightened, completely surrounding Christian.

“Your Highness!!”

Senin shouted in alarm.

He recognized the technique.

‘Count Seshia’s Will-Poison: The Cage Cart Wall!’

As the name suggested, it was a will-poison that created a barrier of poison, isolating the caster and opponent from the outside world.

Once trapped, escape was impossible.

Surrounded by swirling poison, the victim was toyed with until their blood ran out and death came.

‘We have to save him…!’

But Senin was busy fighting Count Kalia and couldn’t intervene.

The net formed a prison-like wall, cutting off Christian and Seshia from the outside.

‘No!!’

It was over.

But there was something Senin didn’t know.

The expression Christian wore before being trapped.

A victorious smile.

*    *    *

Meanwhile, on a hill overlooking the Seshia territory.

An unexpected figure watched Christian’s form.

Sherad, with his beautiful silver hair.

“Hmm, what to do now?”

Originally, he had planned to kill Christian when the opportunity arose.

But Christian’s alliance with the Dark Mage Army had prevented that chance.

“This is troublesome. I’m the one who should kill Christian.”

Sherad frowned as he watched Christian trapped in the will-poison.

‘I’ve long awaited the day I could kill Christian.’

He recalled the moment Christian had carved a scar into his face.

Just thinking about it sent a chill through his chest.

Christian was the first to ignite such a fierce murderous intent in him.

He wanted to tear Christian apart right now, soaking his hands in his blood.

Yet, paradoxically, he also felt he didn’t want to kill him just yet.

How much stronger would Christian become?

Even now, he was terrifyingly captivating.

Imagining what he’d be like in the future made Sherad’s heart race wildly.

‘Anyway, I can’t let anyone else kill him.’

Sherad’s eyes darkened with a cold resolve.

He hadn’t longed for their meeting just to watch Christian die so easily.

Just as Sherad was about to move—

“Hmm…?”

A flicker of interest sparked in Sherad’s eyes.

Something was changing inside the poison prison.

Using the demonic blessing of ‘Ghost-Eater’ power, Sherad surveyed the inside of the will-poison and soon burst into a loud laugh.

Christian was up to his crazy antics again.

“As expected of my Christian. You never disappoint.”

Sherad licked the scar Christian had left on his face.

“I’m counting on you. Don’t die.”

A wild madness flickered in Sherad’s eyes as he looked at Chris.

“Killing you will be my task alone.”

*    *    *

The Cage Cart Wall.

A terrifying will-poison that completely isolates the enemy from the outside by creating a poisonous barrier.

‘Once trapped, the chance of survival is almost nonexistent.’

There was only one way.

He had to shatter the mental barrier with an even stronger force.

But it was impossible.

No matter how absolute Chris’s power was, it couldn’t surpass the mental barrier cast by a six-star demon.

Count Sesia, as if the outcome had already been decided, declared coldly and cruelly,

“Still, for the sake of the Dark Mage’s pride, I won’t kill you. Instead, I’ll make your fate far worse than death. I’ll melt every limb of yours, then crush that arrogant face of yours with poison. I’ll poison your breathing holes, your mouth, your ears—grind them all until you’re barely clinging to life.”

A horrifying threat.

But it wasn’t empty words.

Trapped within the prison’s walls, Chris was no different from an insect caught in a spider’s web.

“If you kneel and beg me now, I might ease your suffering a little.”

“Shut up.”

“…What?”

“I’ve been telling you all along—your breath reeks like shit, so just shut up.”

Count Sesia’s face went blank for a moment.

He hadn’t expected Chris to make such a cheeky remark even when cornered like this.

“You don’t even realize what kind of situation you’re in?”

“Ah, I know. This prison wall’s mental barrier is powerful, right? It might be tough to overcome with my strength as a demon.”

Chris spoke as if discussing someone else’s problem, calm and unbothered.

Count Sesia snapped in anger, waving his hand.

“You’ll understand once you experience it yourself! Regret your arrogance as your body melts away in agony!”

Suddenly—

From the wall, a jet of black poison shot out, aiming straight for Chris’s feet.

With no way to dodge, trapped on all sides, the Count smiled grimly, already imagining the terrible screams that would soon fill the air.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Something impossible.

A brilliant beam of light burst forth from Chris’s body, scattering the poison into nothingness.